Portable dry concentrator



May 12, 1942. c. M. FULLER 2,233,051

PORTABLE DRY CQNCENTRATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet l m 0000 N G) N O N O 0 Q O Q w m INVENTOR Ches.M-F'uZZer ATTORNEYS May 12, 1942. c. M. FULLER PORTABLE DRY C(QDNCENTRATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1940 4 sh ets-sheet 2 mum INVENTOR Chas/k1. Fuller Mi: W:

ATTORNEYS May 12, 1942.

C. M. FULLER PORTABLE DRY CONCENTRATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Chas. M Fuller ATTORNEYS May 12,1942. c. M. FULLER PORTABLE DRY CONCENTRATOR Filed Jan. 15, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTbR Chas. M. Fuller ATTORNEYS Patented May 12, 1942 I.

2,283,051 PORTABLE DRY CON CENTRATOR Charles M. Fuller, Lodi, Califi, assignor to n, Stockton, Calif.

Application January 15, 1940, Serial No. 313,877

E. D. Wilkinso 1 Claim.

This invention relates to dry concentrators and particularly to one of a small portable size such as may be operated by hand or a small motor, and thus is suitable when a relatively small quantity of material is to be handled for concentration.

The principal object of the present'invention is to provide aconcentrator of the above type which, while utilizing positive and negative pressure as the concentrating means, in the same manner as covered in my United States Patent No. 2,148,068, creates such pressures by a single hand or small power operated means instead of by the separate large power driven instrumentalities necessary with the structure of the patent.

A further object of the invention is to producea simple and inexpensive device and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claim.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views:

Figure l is a side elevation of the portable concentrator.

Figure 2 is a sectional elevation of the structure.

Figure 3 is a top table partly broken mediately below.

Figure 4 is a cross section on line 44 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section showing the concentrating table before being lowered to cooperating relation with the structure below.

Figure 6 is a side view concentrator having a mo creating means.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, and particularly at present to Figs. 1 to 5, the concentrator comprises a table having side rails I between which, at the ends, are plates 2, with spaced rifiies 3 between the plates. The plates and riflies are flush with the lower surface of the rails and are shallow relative to the depth of the rails. The rifiles are concaved from the bottom up, on one side as clearly shown. The under side of the table is covered throughout its extent with a length of taut foraminous fabric such as muslin 4, which is tacked or otherwise secured on. the rails and end plates.

The table rails and end plates removably rest plan of the concentrating out to show the structure impartly in section of a dified form of pressure and end plates 5 and 6 stationary supporting strucupstanding from the bars 5 along their outer side edges and for their full length to a height well above the table. Bars 6 are supported at a predetermined slope from end to end by corner legs 8. The table thus has a corresponding slope; the riflies being disposed so that their concave sides face upwardly of the slope.

Upwardly facing channels 9 forming transverse grate elements extend between bars 5 directly under the riifles with their upper edges flush with the upper surface of the bars; these channels being filled with strips of felt H] which initially project above the channels somewhat, as shown in Fig. 5. The table supporting structure, which includes bars 5, plates 6 and channels 9, is covered throughout its extent with fine wire screening H, which acts as a reinforcing for the muslin above.

The table is held down on the supporting structure, so that it cannot slide and so that the riflies compress the felts, by suitable means such as cam levers l2 mounted on the side walls 1 adjacent their ends. This compression of the lefts insures a tight contact of the muslin with the bottom of the rifiies, preventing any fine concentrates from filtering under the riflles.

The table supporting grate which includes bars 5, plates 6 and channels 9, forms the top of an air pressure or wind chamber l3, which includes side boards l4 depending from the bars 5 at their outer edges and for their full length. The bottom of this chamber is formed by an oscillating bellows board l5, pivoted as at H0. at the lower end of the chamber in such a position that it may move to an adjacent and parallel relationship with the table.

The board is oscillated through a stroke of predetermined length by means of a link l6 extending between the under side of the board and an arm I! projecting lengthwise of the board from a transverse shaft l8 supported from brackets I9 mounted on the side walls l4.

Secured on and upstanding from the shaft l8 at one end outwardly of the air chamber is another arm 2|, connected by a side rod 22 with a flywheel 23 in offset relation to the axial shaft 24 thereof, This shaft is supported from the legs 8 at the high end of the apparatus, and is rotated from a shaft 25 parallel to and above said on the matching side bars respectively of the ture; side boards end and at the other end is connected to shaft 24 by a belt drive 21. The shaft 24 may of course -lows board, but the point of nearest approach of the board toward the concentrating table may be altered independently of the length of the stroke. As a result air pressures, both positive and negative, of varying intensities, may be created in the pressure chamber to act through the foraminous fabric of the bottom of the table on the concentrates and thus giving the same concentrating action as is obtained with the power operated structure of my aforementioned patent.

and driven from the operating handle 26a, by a belt drive 21a. An arm 32 projects radially from the shaft 3| and carries a cam roller 33 on its outer end which engages for a portion of the upward swing of the arm under a lug 34 adjustably mounted on the rod 28. The roller as it moves up thus lifts the rod and bellows a distance depending on the setting of the lug on the rod, and then suddenly moves from under said lug, so that the expanded spring 30 is then free to pull the rod and bellows sharply down. A suctional action through the fabric of the concentrating table, of greater intensity than the upward pressur'eistroke, is thus created.

The velocity of the air movement through the fabric is accentuated without any very large bellows movement being necessaryby reason of the fact that the side bars 5 and bottom plates 6 as well of course the cross channels 9, restrict the area of the opening through the table relative to the corresponding area of the chamber considerably.

With the above arrangement, the speed of the down (suction) stroke of the bellows board is of course the same as that of the up stroke (pressure stroke) of the board. Under certain conditions, for a better concentrating action, it may be found desirable to increase the velocity of the air on the suction stroke relative to the pressure stroke. To obtain such an action the bellows may be operated as shown in Fig. 6. In this structure, the bellows board l5a is connected to a depending rod unit 28 engaged for vertical movement by guides 29 mounted on the frame of the machine.

A strong tension spring 30 is applied to the rod to pull the same down, and said rod is raised a certain distance against the resistance of the spring by means of a rotary transverse shaft 3i mounted on the frame to one side of the rod 28 From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as 'set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be-resorted to as do not form. a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A dry concentrator comprising means forming an air pressure chamber open to the top, a concentrating table having a bottom pervious to air mounted over and closing the top of the chamher, a bellows element forming the bottom of the chamber, means pivoting the element at one end for oscillating movement toward and from the table, a transverse oscillatory shaft disposed intermediate the ends of the element, a radial arm projecting from the shaft and substantially par allel to the element, a link connected at one end to the arm at different selected points in the length thereof, and means connecting the link at its other end to the bellows element at different selected points in the length thereof.

CHARLES M. FULLER. 

